County Executive to Get $65,000 Bathroom

"It's not marble and gold fixtures," Firestine said.

Early yesterday, Firestine called the new facility private, to be used by Leggett and his guests. However, Leggett later stressed that all of his aides, "from the secretary on down," would have access to the bathroom.

"It was not done exclusively for me," he said.

Leggett's senior adviser, Jennifer Hughes, defended the decision to build the bathroom and said yesterday that it was not newsworthy.

"Citizens come up to him wherever and whenever. Ninety-nine percent of the time he doesn't mind that; that's what he wants and expects. The one time he doesn't want that is, understandably, when he's doing his private business. I would hope that people would understand that not everyone respects that need for privacy," she said.

In creating a secure bathroom, the administration is following recommendations from its Department of Homeland Security, while trying to balance Leggett's safety with his calls for a "highly inclusionary, transparent form of government," as he put it in his 2006 inaugural address.

During Duncan's administration, the doors leading into the executive's offices were unlocked, and the two conference rooms off the lobby were enclosed in glass. Now, the glass doors are accessible only with a security card; the stairwell door to the second floor is secure; and the glass surrounding the conference room has been frosted.

County employees have joked privately that the frosted glass sends a message contrary to Leggett's promise of transparency. Firestine said the exposed room was distracting to meeting participants.

As Leggett's budget writers made decisions about spending cuts in recent months, the question was raised by aides about whether to proceed with the bathroom.

Firestine said his answer was, "Absolutely."

"I'm not going to take a risk of a security event occurring because Mr. Leggett has to use the bathroom in an insecure area," he said.

Marvin Weinman, president of the Montgomery County Taxpayer League, suggested a solution. Leggett, he said, should make a statement by off-setting the cost of the bathroom with an additional spending reduction of the same amount.

"If he has a need for that, then he should find a cut somewhere else," Weinman said.

Staff writers Rosalind S. Helderman and David Nakamura contributed to this report.